Father of PlayStation Calls Physical Games "Not Economically Reasonable": Why Ken Kutaragi Says Let Go of Discs
He is the visionary engineer who championed the CD-ROM in 1994 against Nintendo and Sega cartridges, before turning the PlayStation 2 into a global DVD phenomenon and pushing Blu-ray on the PlayStation 3. Yet in October 2026, Ken Kutaragi believes optical media has reached the end of the road. Appearing as the headline keynote speaker at the Game Republic New Horizons conference held this week at Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium in the UK, the former Sony Computer Entertainment chairman and group CEO delivered a candid assessment of the industry's march toward an all-digital future.
Now 76, the architect of the first three PlayStation consoles views Sony's ongoing transition through the lens of cold industrial pragmatism. As PlayStation prepares to phase out physical PS5 games by January 2028 following Sony's decision to end recordable Blu-ray disc manufacturing and optical recorder shipments in Japan, the legendary hardware creator says he sympathizes with upset collectors, even if the math no longer works in their favor.
Physical Discs as a "Metaphor for Owning Games": Why Kutaragi Calls It a Mentality Issue
Speaking during his rare UK appearance in Middlesbrough, Ken Kutaragi openly acknowledged that Sony Interactive Entertainment's handling of the digital shift has "caused some friction with game enthusiasts." In his view, the fierce player attachment to boxed copies has evolved beyond practical data storage into a psychological security blanket.
"I understand that physical discs have become a metaphor for 'owning' games. I really understand that mentality. But nobody thinks physical media is necessary for a networked device like a smartphone, for example, because people feel that they will keep their content. So it's a mentality. I really understand why some people are upset, but I don't think it's economically reasonable. Maybe it's a mentality issue."
Ken Kutaragi, former CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment, at Game Republic New Horizons (October 2026)
According to Kutaragi, while network capabilities were still in their infancy during the PS2 and PS3 generations, universal high-speed connectivity has made manufacturing, shipping, and supporting physical discs financially unjustifiable for platform holders. It is a reality PlayStation hardware already reflects today, with the PS5 Pro shipping without an optical drive in the box and requiring physical collectors to purchase a standalone modular unit.
Check out the official PS5 Pro and PS5 Slim Disc Drive on Amazon→
From Dedicated Game Console to Connected "Content Terminal"
Having stepped down from his executive role at PlayStation in 2007 before going on to lead Ascent Robotics and Cyber AI Entertainment, Kutaragi noted that he first predicted the complete convergence of consoles and online networks back when the PS2 launched. He believes the current clash between Sony and hardcore preservationists stems from a broader cultural shift inside Sony Interactive Entertainment.
He pointed out that many executives currently shaping PlayStation strategy came from outside traditional console manufacturing, including cloud pioneers like Gaikai and media streaming companies. Utilizing modern network infrastructure, that leadership sees PlayStation not merely as a dedicated game machine, but as a multi-purpose "content terminal." That corporate vision stands in stark contrast to another former PlayStation leader, as Shawn Layden recently argued that if you cannot sell your game, you do not truly own it.
Gaming Rig Costs Reaching "The Price of a Car": Kutaragi Warns Hardware Makers
Beyond the debate over physical discs, Ken Kutaragi used his keynote address,hosted on stage by Christopher Dring of The Game Business,to voice deep concern over the skyrocketing cost of consumer gaming hardware. While consoles moved away from custom proprietary chips toward PC-based architectures to make development easier, global component and memory shortages have pushed prices to levels he considers unsustainable.
"Currently, machines are super expensive and that's not a healthy situation. Even though architecture has changed direction from console-based to PC-based, with the intention of making the platform easier to create, right now PCs are so expensive. It's the price of a car! It's not healthy."
Ken Kutaragi, speaking on stage at Game Republic New Horizons (October 2026)
To break out of this hardware inflation spiral, the Father of PlayStation urged manufacturers to engineer "elegant solutions." In his eyes, if gaming companies manage to harness artificial intelligence and cloud computing to their full potential, players "won't need any console" at all,PlayStation's creator quickly adding with a laugh that his prediction was no longer an official statement from Sony Computer Entertainment.
My Take
as someone who has been lining up physical game cases on my shelves since the original grey PlayStation launched in 1995, hearing Ken Kutaragi dismiss our attachment to discs as a mere "mentality issue" is a tough pill to swallow. Telling players that wanting a physical disc is just a psychological hang-up while charging a full $70 or $80 on the PlayStation Store for a locked digital license,with zero ability to lend the game to a friend, trade it in, or resell it,ignores the basic economics of being a gamer.
The smartphone comparison falls flat when you look at how we actually buy games. Nobody spends $80 on a mobile app, and mobile users are not watching full-priced single-player epics get delisted or rendered unplayable when licensing agreements expire. Gamers fighting for physical media in 2026 are not just clinging to plastic out of nostalgia; we are pushing back because digital ownership on consoles is still a one-way street that strips away consumer rights. Until platform holders offer real ownership guarantees and fair digital pricing, my "mentality" is staying firmly behind my disc drive.
SEO consultant for over 20 years and digital entrepreneur, Charles 'Grimtag' Ronchain is the founder of Pro-Gamer.gg, Retrocharting.com, and Gamescharting.com. A competitive gamer, streamer, and retro game collector, he has worked in the video game industry for over 15 years, notably as a consultant for leading game price comparison platforms. Passionate about real-time performance data and gaming technology, he analyzes competitive esports, gaming hardware benchmarks, and creator workflows on Pro-Gamer.gg with an authentic player perspective.
